Food Friday: Coco Balls

These are one of my good-goodies, meaning they taste great and are a great treat, but are also Good for You-Naturally!™ These are a great holiday treat, taken from Good for You-Naturally!™ Weekly Menu & Recipes ~ Level 1 – with over 60 recipes and complete menu for transitioning to whole foods that are Good for You-Naturally!™ – and Holiday Delights.

Coco Balls

Yield: about 20 1″ balls

  • 1 cup Raw Almonds
  • 1 cups Dates
  • Purified Water, to cover Dates
  • 2 Tbl. Raw Carob Powder (or Raw Cacao Powder)
  • 1 teaspoon Real Vanilla
  • ¾ cup dried Coconut +
  • ¼ cup dried Coconut
  • Optional: 2 Tbl. Raw Honey
  • Optional: 1/2 tsp. ground Cinnamon

1. Soak pitted Dates in Water to cover for 1-2 hours.

2.Remove Dates from Water. (You can save the water and use it in a Smoothie or other sweet recipe.

3.Grind Almonds to a coarse powder in food processor or blender. (Processor recommended if you have it.)

4.Blend in Carob Powder, and Cinnamon, if using.

5.Add Vanilla, Honey, and Dates,. Process till smooth. In the Food Processor, this will form into a ball after adding Dates

6.Add 3/4 cup Coconut. Stir (squish) or process in.

7.Roll into approx. 1” or so balls.

8.Roll balls in remaining Coconut.

9.Refrigerate or eat.

Tip! If you prefer a non-Coconut version, leave it and the honey out. Make a very simple version with just Almonds, Carob Powder and Dates.

Tip! This can be done in the blender, but I’d recommend doing your Almonds first. Removing them from blender. Then blending your Dates, Honey, and Vanilla (along with any of the soak water needed to make a paste.) Then mixing Almonds and Dates together by hand (truly by hand, kneading together.)

 

Friday Food – Maple Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

These super yummy cookies are considered “raw”. They are dehydrated at low temp, rather than baked, to retain all their nutrition goodness.

If you follow a high raw lifestyle of eating, or if you just want to increase your intake of yummy Good for You-Naturally! foods for better health, give them a try.

Lisa’s (Raw) Maple Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

2 cups whole oat groats (organic)
3/4 cup pure maple syrup (organic)
2 Tbl. raw EV Coconut Oil (organic) (melted or not)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, optional
1/4 tsp. ground allspice, optional
1 cap/tsp. vanilla
1 cup organic raisins
1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts, optional (organic)

 

  • Soak oat groats in more than double the amount of pure water (4+ cups), overnight.
  • Drain well.
  • Process oat groats and maple syrup in food processor (or Blend in blender) until semi-smooth.
  • Mix in coconut oil, spices, vanilla and raisins (and nuts.)
  • Drop by spoonful on dehydrator solid tray and flatten.
  • Dehydrate overnight at 105°.
  • Turn over onto mesh screen and dry a few more hours until desired chewiness.

These are awesome cookies that taste like “regular” oatmeal raisin cookies (and look like them too, just not “browned”.)

You can use raw honey or pitted soft dates (or raw agave nectar), if you prefer, but the maple syrup gives a GREAT taste to these.

I usually add just cinnamon to my oatmeal cookies, but these other spices added a bit different flavor that is good too.

If you don’t have a dehydrator yet, click here to see what to look for when buying a dehydrator and the ones we recommend.

from my Good for You-Naturally! for Life online course